Beastforged Bond

As Alchemist Zuan’s apprentice, Daniel was given resources to further his own growth, ingredients to deepen his craft as an Alchemist, and the techniques needed to earn good money. Instead of direct payment, Daniel would receive a small commission for the extra serum and everything else he concocted. However, until he finished his apprenticeship, everything he procured had to be sold to Alchemist Zuan.

That made earning a fortune rather difficult, all things considered. Still, from what Daniel mentioned, Alchemist Zuan seemed like a good guy. A little bit obsessed with the Bastions’ Beasters, but nice nonetheless. He’d do well with Beaster Bert.

Daniel mumbled something about Teach as well, reminding me of Bert and his wife. They were truly great people, and I could only hope that they were doing fine in the Bastion.

“Anyway,” Daniel shook his head, discarding stray thoughts, “If you plan to purchase Essence, you will have to acquire a certificate. Dracos wants to remain in control of everything, as far as I can tell, and I guess they hope that keeping a log of all transactions will help with that.” He shrugged lightly before adding, “To get a certificate, you either have to become a Hunter or an Alchemist. I think there are some other methods as well, but hunting or concocting serums is one of the easiest ways.”

Listening to Daniel and the others told me one thing: Essence was hard to come by, and it was more often than not sold by human Blessed. It was said that other races had more difficulties extracting their Essence and that humans had it much easier to grow theirs in the first place. That, among other things, was probably why humans had been treated as livestock in the past.

Is there a difference now? Now, humans got to sell their Essence for coins. It was a transaction rather than something that was forced upon them. Still, it was likely the easiest way for humans to earn a small fortune with little effort.

Shoving all distracting thoughts aside, I funneled my attention to the facts at hand. First of all, Essence extraction devices were expensive and regulated as well. Then, it was important to note that various types and grades of Essence existed. Depending on what someone wanted or needed, purchasing Essence could burn deep holes in the pockets of the wealthiest men and women.

With that in mind, I was sure my Essence would be worth a pretty coin or two. Even though I had yet to test it, I was confident it was compatible with all kinds of Essence. It might have been interesting to learn more about Essence extraction if I could safely extract it from my World without further damaging it, but that was highly unlikely.

That made me grimace, which Daniel took as his cue to continue.

“Don’t worry, Adam. I will try to concoct a World Mending Elixir with my Essence, but I cannot promise anything. This is a few levels above my skill. Maybe I can complete an elixir with extremely low efficacy, but I don’t know how much that will help you. Or… if it kills you.”

Great. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Thanks, Daniel, but I think I can manage. I don’t want you to do anything dangerous,” I said, only to see him shake his head.

He said nothing for a moment, until my mother cleared her throat.

“Everyone’s working hard to help you. Your parents are growing their World to supply me with the Essence needed to help you as well.” Now it was his turn to grimace when he looked into my eyes. “Worst case, we will pump raw Essence into you.”

That wouldn’t be as effective as the Elixirs, but it would work. Probably. Or it would kill me. Elixirs were gentler than raw, volatile Essence, especially on a World that was already on the verge of breaking.

***

Traveling through Dracos on foot was a pain in the butt. It would have been a lot better if I had access to ether or my Soulkins or Soulfusion. Alas, my physique was still recovering, which was all the more reason to spend 20 copper coins on a carriage. Precisely, I got to ride a Windrider Horse. It stored my coins in a spatial bracelet before carrying me swiftly to the Grand Hall.

When I got off the beast, our eyes met, sending chills down my spine as a mixture of pity, greed, and confusion washed over me.

Do you want to eat me, bind to me, or are you just pitying me? It was probably everything at once, so I turned back to the gargantuan structure that was my destination.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The Grand Hall. It dominated the heart of the central plaza like a monument carved for titans. The entrance alone rose high enough to swallow Behemoths without slowing them. Immense pillars that looked less like shaped stones and more like cliffs framed the entrance, forming a forced symmetry along the walls.

Standing in front of the structure, its upper reaches were difficult to discern, its edges blurring into the haze lingering high above the city.

It was terrifying, yet also beautiful.

Stepping into the Grand Hall was no problem. The space unfolded into something even more staggering as the ceiling stretched into the distance until shadows and dim light were all I could see. Faint veins of gold pulsed across the ceiling like slow heartbeats, but I had to turn my gaze back to the ground to avoid running into anyone. Sound carried strangely in the Grand Hall. Voices overlapped with footsteps that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, yet the sounds didn’t bother me. Until they reached my ears, they were no longer as loud as they should have been. Instead, they returned as softened murmurs.

The floor was a vast expanse of polished marble, although “floor” felt like the wrong word for something that appeared more like a plateau. It was engraved with various ether circuits, runic letters, and whatever forms of magic other races had used to enchant the Grand Hall. They branched outward in intricate patterns that seemed to guide everyone’s movement and momentum, leading to the Grand Hall’s true purpose.

Portals–dozens, if not hundreds of them–filled the Grand Hall’s centre.

Some were anchored within circular frames made of various metals, biomass, or other materials, reflecting distorted images of places far beyond Dracos. Others floated freely in the air, suspended at varying heights that could be reached through skybridges from the dozens of floors stretching up to the Grand Hall’s ceiling. They differed wildly in size and nature: some were larger than a Behemoth, shimmering like fragments of reality torn loose, while others were no larger than a doorway.

It was hard not to feel the presence the portals carried. Their colors varied, as did their sizes and the intensity of their presence. It was overwhelming, freezing my mind and body for several minutes. Minutes I wasted struggling to regain control of my thoughts and motor skills.

People moved constantly around the hall. Hunters clad in worn gear stepped through flickering portals to distant regions. Traders hauling goods toward more stable portals could be seen left and right, alongside artisans, scholars, and others.

Now and then, a portal flared to life, distorting the air with a ripple before swallowing those passing through. Others dimmed and vanished entirely, replaced by new portals, only for similar ones to reappear moments later somewhere else within the hall.

Yet, despite the apparent chaos unfurling around me, there was order. Attendants and guards lingered at key intersections, watching, guiding, and intervening when needed.

But the Grand Hall was not just a place of travel. Sure, every portal promised to carry someone somewhere else, be it hunting grounds, distant areas inside Dracos, or to uncharted regions, but that was not all. The Grand Hall was also the heart of crafters of all kinds. It was home to the best merchants in all of Dracos, and it housed the biggest auction house in the entire city-state. Countless merchants from various places visited the market and the auction house to sell and purchase the rarest of goods, and that was exactly what I wanted.

The market and the auction house were on the ground floor, not too far from the portal hub. Both looked impressive in their own right, yet even the elaborate projections of armaments, Elixirs, and all the other goods that were both sold in the market and auctioned there couldn’t compare to the Grand Hall’s grandeur.

Fortune shone upon me when I reached the register. Several attendants were busy roaming behind it, sorting through things, but the few men and women working at the counter were mostly unoccupied.

I approached a young-looking attendant wearing a suit that covered most of her gray skin. She was the size of a human child, which I only realized when I saw the elevation she stood upon, and she had two pupils in each iris. That was a first for me, but it didn’t look all that bad.

“Good morning, sir. How may I help you?” the attendant greeted me in Common, her voice a touch brighter than expected.

“Good morning.” I returned the greeting with a faint smile. “I would like to add a few items to this week’s auction.”

The attendant nodded slowly. “We can do that, sir. Did you visit a certified appraiser to have your goods appraised, or do you intend to use the house’s appraiser for an official appraisal? If you choose the second option, please note that we will require you to pay a small fee if you do not intend to sell your goods at the house.”

That was acceptable. I wouldn’t even know where to go to get the books and armaments appraised in the first place.

“I am fine with the additional charge.”

“Perfect.” The small attendant clapped once and looked down, muttering something in a language I’d never heard before. “Our in-house appraiser is already present. We can visit her right this instant if you wish, young sir.”

I nodded again and was led around the register to a backroom. From there, we went up a staircase for a good minute or two. Once we reached the second floor, the small, gray attendant guided me into a room, where I met one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.

She looked just like Thyria’s human-like form: beautiful skin, long, pointed ears, bright emerald eyes, and a body that radiated charm and grace. Yet it was not her appearance that caught me off guard. It was her presence. She had the presence of both a Spirit and a human.

Was she a Spiritborne?